University of Arizona in the News

University of Arizona associate professors of history Alison Futrell and Paul Milliman discuss their recent educational partnership with the makers of the real-time strategy video game Age of Empires IV.

A hug can make a big difference for women, according to a new study. Unfortunately, the effect is not as powerful when it comes to men. Researchers analyzed how 76 people responded to stress after a hug from a romantic partner in a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. Women who got to hug their significant other showed a decrease in the production of cortisol – a stress hormone – compared with those who did not.

This editorial examines the place of higher education in the middle of the larger cultural discussion about freedom of speech and so-called "divisive" subject matter. Alain-Philippe Durand, dean of the College of Humanities at the University of Arizona, hopes to lead the conversation about the role of the humanities in helping institutions examine their values, and whether they advance a university's overall goal of education.

According to an internal Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's gender bias survey, women now constitute about 30% of researchers worldwide, but representation dwindles as one moves up the hierarchy of the scientific body. "Women scientists face many barriers in their careers that make it harder to rise to the highest professional levels," said Diana Liverman, co-author and professor at the University of Arizona.

In 2004, the National Science Foundation and the University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center collaborated to build the South Pole Food Growth Chamber, intended to test the idea of controlled-environment agriculture – a means of maximizing plant growth while minimizing resource use.

As waves of new coronavirus variants circulate the globe, one thing has become clear: human immunity against the virus fades over time. University of Arizona immunologist Deepta Bhattacharya studies the lifespan of plasma cells, a type of long-lasting cell that makes protective antibodies. He's also interested in how various vaccine technologies influence the persistence of these cells in our bodies.

After being released as evidence by the FBI and after undergoing research and conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Getty Conservation Institute, "Woman-Ochre" returns to exhibit this summer. The oil on canvas will go on display next month at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles before returning to the University of Arizona Museum of Art in October.

The nationwide baby formula shortage – caused by supply chain issues and a February safety recall that shuttered a major manufacturing plant – prompted some on social media to suggest women should breastfeed because "it's free!" "Breastfeeding – and relatedly pumping breast milk – is not free because it consumes women's time and resources in ways that amount to another job on top of being a mother," said University of Arizona professor of management and organizations Allison S. Gabriel, an organizational psychologist.

University of Arizona Regents Professor of Astronomy Marcia Rieke, principal investigator for the Near Infrared Camera aboard the James Webb Space Telescope, discusses how Webb may transform our understanding of the universe.

University of Arizona associate professor of natural resources Donald Falk and colleagues in March published a review paper that looked at the ecological processes involved with dry, brittle and, often burning forests. Falk discusses how resilient the state's forests might be to increasing threats from climate change and what people can do to protect these beloved landscapes.